Former People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (
Speaking at the KMT's headquarters after meeting with Lien, Lee said Lien had welcomed him back to the KMT.
"Chairman Lien has been paying close attention to me recently, and in our conversation, he also said that he welcomes me back to the KMT," Lee said.
Given that Lien's offer seemed heartfelt and that a large number of his supporters have expressed a wish to see him back in the KMT, Lee said he would consider his options and make a decision soon.
Lee left the KMT 12 years ago to be one of the founding members of the New Party. He later joined the PFP.
Despite his departure, Lee said his sister, PFP Legislator Diane Lee (
Diane Lee said yesterday that she plans to remain in the PFP and she wishes her brother well should he return to the KMT.
"To say that someone has changed, one needs to look at whether or not his principles have changed and not whether he has changed the party that he is in," she said in response to queries about her brother's political journey from one party to another.
The Lien meeting clarified some of the questions raised by Lee Ching-hua's departure from the PFP on Wednesday.
He announced his departure by saying that he was unhappy with the PFP's political direction. His departure came after rumors of conflict between him and the party over the PFP's dismal performance in last Saturday's National Assembly elections.
The PFP secured only 18 of the 40 seats it had targeted, leading Lee and several other legislators to openly criticize the party's leadership. They said it had been a mistake to have been friendly with the Democratic Progressive Party.
Adding to the PFP's troubles, media rumors yesterday had the party's holding a meeting to decide whether or not to discipline Chiu for criticizing the party.
Since Saturday, Chiu has said that he plans to leave the party and may form a new party.
Chiu said yesterday that he has already made his decision but is not yet ready to say what it is. He said he will make an announcement on Monday.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
RSS